Educational device



Feb. 15, 1949. w. P. RUSSELL 2,461,926

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE .Filed Feb. 18, 1946 2 Sheeis Sheet 1 INVENTOR. By WENHGH P. RusseH mag/ ' 1949- w. P. RUSSELL EDUCATIONAL DEVICE Filed Feb. 18, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 DIiflLt ROUND TALL N LY

INVENTOR.

WinField PR usseH MM '7 Patented Feb. 15, 1949 ED STATS IF E'NT OFFICE 3 Claims.

:This invention relates to aneducational device .designed especiallyfor thepurpose of givinginstruction to young children who are learning to 'read.

One object of the invention is to provide a device .of thischaracterby which a child is given assistance in coordinating the written and the spoken word.

Anotherobject of the. invention is to provide a educational device whichembodies the principle .of learning .by doing so that while a child is getting experience in coordinating the Written and spoken word, he is also developing .coordination between his eyes and his fingers.

casing member I, which is herein shown as having asemi-cylindrical top portion 2 and a relatively wide base portion 3a,'having a fiat bottom. The casing, or-housing, is made with an interior chamber zll whichhas vertical side walls 2| and asemi-cylindrical roof '22, the ends of the chamberbeing closed by the-end Walls '5 and 6 of the casing.

Situated within the chamber 26, and extending lengthwise thereof axially of the semi-cylindrical roof 22, is a supporting shaft 4, the ends of the shaft being mounted in the end walls 5 and-'6 of the casing.

Mounted on'the shaft 4 are a plurality of cylindrical elementsl, each of which has on its periphery a plurality of words, letters, or other indicia. The front casing is provided with a reading slot 3which extends from one end to the other of the chamber 20. Each cylindrical element or roll I is freely rotatable on the shaft 4 and can be rotated independently of any other roll, thereby to bring any Word orother indicia thereon into register with the reading slot.

The words, or indicia, on the periphery of each roll '1 may be printed directly on'the roll, or may be imprinted on a-strip of paper pasted to the circumference of the roll. In either event, the

2 words, or other 'indicia, are'arranged parallel to .thenxisof the roll.

.Inithe illustrated. embodiment of. my invention, the indiciaon-the rolls are words and sufiixes, and they arearranged on the Various rolls so that, :by'the'proper manipulation'of the rolls, complete sentences can be formed. For instance, the words on the first roll at the left may be nouns or pronouns or names of persons which can form the grammatical subject of a completed sentence. The words on the next roll may be verbs which .canform the grammatical predicate of a completed sentence.

.The words on other rolls may be qualifying words such as adverbs :or adjectives, and the words on .the rrollat theright'of the casing may be nouns which could form the object of a sentence.

"The casing lis provided in its back side with a pluralityof elongated finger openings 8, there being :on-eisuch-finger opening for each roll or cylindrical member I. The finger openings'are preferably somewhat elongated in a peripheral direction so that a. person may introduce his finger into any opening 8, and by moving his finger 'Whilefin contact with the corresponding roll, the latter-will be turned aboutits axis, thereby bringing any desired word on said roll into register with the reading opening or slot 3.

Initheiillustrated embodiment of the invention, there areprovided'two narrow rolls Ia and 11), on the periphery .of which are the necessary suffixes to either pluralize the words on the roll immediately'tothe left, or to indicate the tense ofthe 'verb words. These suffixes Imight be either the letter 5s 'or the suffix es depending upon the character of the word which is to be pluralized, or the suflix ed when a verb in the past tense .is required.

.Thecasing 'l is open at the bottom as shown at B, and'the opening ll has the same size and shape asthat of 'the'cham'beriil taken on a horizontal plane. Said opening is large enoughso that the rolls :may be introduced into position through said opening.

The shaft 4 is supported at one end'in a recess it formed in the end wall 5, while the end wall -6 .hasa through vopening in which the shaft is received.

The rolls and the shaft can be assembled with the casing by first introducing the rolls into the casing through the open bottom 9, and then 'introducingithe shaft l through'the end wallli and through thevarious alligned rolls.

vAny suitable means-may be employed forholding the shaft 5 from lengthwise movement. As herein shown, said shaft is provided near its end with a groove I I, adapted to receive spring fingers i2 that are carried by the inner face of the end Wall 6. Each roll 1 has associated therewith a friction brake device which serves to frictionally hold the roll in adjusted position and which also prevents the roll from over-running when it is being adjusted. Each friction brake device com prises a resilient arm M which is fastened at one end to the base as shown at l5, and the free end of which rests against the under side of the corresponding roll as best seen in Fig. 2. The base portion 3a of the casing is formed on the under face with a series of recesses It in which the outer ends of the arms 14 are received, each arm being secured inplace by a screw or other fastening device.

In using the device, the teacher or the pupil 7 may insert her finger through the finger opening for the roll I at the left, and may manipulate said roll to bring any desired word thereon, such as the word sister, into register with the reading slot 3. The next roll, the one carrying verb words, may then be manipulated to bring some desired verb word, such as the word want, into register with the reading opening, and the roll 1a may be manipulated so as to make the verb word either singular or plural as desired.

The roll I at the right may then be manipulated so as to bring some word, such as dress, into register with the reading slot 3 to form a proper grammatical object to the sentence that is being composed, and the intermediate rolls may then be manipulated to bring proper qualifying words into register with the reading opening so as to complete the sentence, and if necessary, the roll lb will be manipulated so as to pluralize the word constituting the grammatical object of the sentence.

After the sentence has been composed as above described, the sentence can be readily changed by shifting the roll at the left so as to bring any other noun into register with the reading slot, and similarly, the sentence can be changed by shifting the roll at the right to bring some diiferent word into register with the reading slot to form the grammatical object of the composed sentence.

Similarly, by changing the intermediate rolls 1, the qualifying words may be changed without changing the subject, predicate, or object ofthe sentence.

If the pupi1 is encouraged to manipulate the various rolls, he will thus gain experience in coordinating the muscular action of his fingers with the reading of the words through the reading slot.

The device herein shown constitutes a simple and inexpensive device which may form an important aid in teaching small children to read. It is to be noted that the rolls 1 are entirely enclosed in the chamber 20, and the only portion of the rolls visible to a person situated in front of the casing is that portion that can be seen through the reading slot. Hence, a child using the device will not be distracted by seeing other portions of the rolls than those exposed through the reading slot.

I claim:

1. An educational device comprising a casing having a fiat bottom, a semi-cylindrical upper portion and closed ends, said casing being provided with an interior chamber having vertical sides and ends, and also having a semi-cylindrical roof portion, said casing having on its front side a reading slot extending from one end to the other of said chamber, a supporting shaft extending from one end of said chamber to the other and situated axially of the semi-cylindrical roof portion of the chamber, a plurality of rolls mounted on said shaft for rotative movement thereabout, said rolls being entirely enclosed within the chamber and each roll having on its periphery a plurality of indicia, any one of which can be brought into register with the reading slot by turning said roll on its axis, said casing having on its rear side a plurality of separate elongated finger openings, one for each roll, into each of which finger openings a person may insert his finger to turn the corresponding roll, thereby to bring any one of the indicia thereon into register with the reading slot.

2. An educational device comprising a casing having a fiat bottom, a semi-cylindrical upper portion and closed ends, said casing being provided with an interior chamber having vertical sides and ends and also having a semi-cylindrical roof portion, said casing having on its front side a reading slot extending from one end to the other of said chamber, a supporting shaft extending from one end of said chamber to the other and situated axially of the semi-cylindrical roof portion of the chamber, a plurality of rolls mounted on said shaft for rotative movement thereabout, said rolls being entirely enclosed within the chamber and each roll having on its periphery a plurality of indicia, any one of which can be brought into register with the reading slot i by turning said roll on its axis, said casing having on its rear side a plurality of separate elongated finger openings, one for each roll into each of which finger openings a person may insert his finger to turn the corresponding roll, thereby to bring any one of the indicia thereon into register with the reading slot, the bottom of the casing having an opening therethrough of a size and shape corresponding to the horizontal crosssectional shape of the chamber, through which opening the rolls may be introduced into the chamber or removed therefrom.

3. An educational device comprising a casing having a flat bottom, a semi-cylindrical upper portion and closed ends, said casing being provided with an interior chamber having vertical sides and ends, and also having a semi-cylindrical roof portion, said casing having on its front side a reading slot extending from one end to the other of said chamber, a supporting shaft extending from one end of said chamber to the other and situated axially of the semi-cylindrical roof portion of the chamber, a plurality of rolls mounted on said shaft for rotative movement thereabout, said rolls being entirely enclosed within the chamber and each roll having on its periphery a plurality of indicia, any one of which can be brought into register with the reading slot by turning said roll on its axis, said casing having on its rear side a plurality of separate elongated finger openings, one for each roll, into each of which finger openings a person may insert his finger to turn the corresponding roll, thereby to bring any one of the indicia thereon into register with the reading slot, the bottom of the casing having an opening therethrough of a size and shape corresponding to the horizontal crosssectional shape of the chamber, through which opening the rolls may be introduced into the chamber or removed therefrom, a plurality of resilient arms, one for each roll, each arm being 6 secured at one end to a side wall of the chamber, Number Name Date and having its free end frictionally engaging the 1,158,774 Beard Nov. 2, 1915 periphery of a roll. 1,256,224 Habart Feb. 12, 1918 WINFIELD P. RUSSELL. 1,391,986 Smith Sept. 27, 1921 5 1,470,845 Johnson Oct. 16, 1923 REFERENCES CITED 1,519,554 Rosenthal Dec. 16, 1924 The following references are of record in the 2304931 Gonzalez June 13, 1940 file of this patent: FOREIGN ATENT UNITED STATES,PATENTS 10 Number Country Date Nmnber Name Date I 3,540 Great Britain 1838 5 75 skinner 20 13 136,423 Great Britain DEC. 13, 1919 69,482 Richardson 0017.17, 1867 739,526 France 1935 

